The statute of limitations serves to freshen and re-freshen the litigation warehouse. Claims and potential claims are warehoused, and then sometimes brought out. Policy considerations require that there be limits on how long a claim can be stored. When the sue-by date arrives, the question of a statute of limitations must be decided, as in Collins Bros.View Full Post

For more than a decade, the Chinese government has been working to push the Chinese manufacturing sector up the value chain. More recently, the push from the central government has become more formalized, resulting in the 2015 issuance of the State Council manufacturing modernization manifesto: Made in China 2025《中国制造2025》(State Council, July 7, 2015). View Full Post

On 10 January 2018, the French Supreme Court issued a second decision in the Commisimpex v Democratic Republic of Congo case, shifting its position on state immunity from execution. In the light of the new Sapin II law, the court held that a waiver of immunity from execution has to be both specific and express when it comes to seizing diplomatic assets. View Full Post

An open question coming into 2017 was whether the aggressive enforcement posture that had characterized the Obama and Bush administrations would continue under the Trump administration. Any questions were answered with the announcement of the first billion-dollar export controls penalty at the outset of the new administration. View Full Post

The Delaware Court of Chancery in a recent opinion allocates the precise amount of fees payable, as a result of a prior indemnification ruling, in light of the total amount of fees incurred by various parties and proceedings that were not all subject to indemnification obligations. View Full Post

Many readers undoubtedly saw the news last week of the enforcement action the SEC filed against Theranos, Inc., its founder, Chairman, and CEO Elizabeth Holmes, and its President and COO Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani. Theranos and Holmes have settled with the agency, although the complaint against Balwani apparently will be going forward. View Full Post

The Irish will celebrate with beer, not cannabis, on St. Paddy’s.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
Given the origin of the holiday, we write to update you on the regulation of cannabis in Ireland. Historically, Ireland has had a conservative cannabis policy due to the nation’s heroin epidemic, among other factors. View Full Post

Robert Walsh, sometime Seattle resident and long-time friend of our law firm (we worked on a number of China deals together and we — Dan and Steve — met up with him on our last trip to Myanmar), has spent the last four years in Myanmar, where he operates a vibrant business consultancy. View Full Post

Careful!
The Washington Legislature concluded its 2018 Session last week, and joined Oregon and California in “banning the box” when it comes to employment applications. Specifically, Washington’s new law, dubbed the “Fair Chance Act” (the “Act”), prohibits employers from looking into any criminal history of potential employees at the point an applicant first applies for a job. View Full Post

In case you’ve been too busy sifting through fake news to follow efforts to reform the High Volatility Commercial Real Estate (HVCRE) regulations that affect acquisition, development or construction (ADC) loans, here’s where we are and where we think we are going. View Full Post